Nadda has not done anything wrong, says Jaitley

NEW DELHI: The government has brushed aside AAP’s criticism over appointment of J P Nadda as Health Minister and said the newly inducted minister has no conflict of interest in AIIMS and he has not done anything wrong in seeking the removal of the institute’s CVO in public interest.

“J P Nadda as an MP had full authority to write on issues coming before him. Publicmen raise several public issues. How can a public issue be a conflict of interest,” Finance and I&B Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters.

To a query on criticism raised by some on Nadda’s appointment, Jaitley shot back, “Who said that he wrote a letter for a wrong cause… Does he have any personal interest in AIIMS?”

Jaitley said no one can question the Prime Minister’s right to appoint anyone in his Cabinet and the grounds on which he selects his ministers.

“Some junior officer is transferred from one place to another in relation to a controversy in which neither the BJP nor the NDA nor any of our ministers are anyway involved,” he said, adding that some people may fit into an organization while some may not.

“As an MP he has exercised his prerogative,” he said.

Nadda himself parried questions on the removal of AIIMS Chief Vigilance Officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi. When asked about his reaction to the Aam Aadmi Party’s allegations against him, he said “This is a shubh mahurth…”

AAP slammed the Narendra Modi government over Nadda’s appointment claiming that he was responsible for controversial removal of the AIIMS CVO.

“JP Nadda, the man who got Sanjeev Chaturvedi transferred from AIIMS, made health min? So, now Modiji will remove corruption in AIIMS through Nadda?” AAP’s National Convener Arvind Kejriwal tweeted.

Another AAP leader Manish Sisodia alleged that Nadda’s appointment will lead to increase in corruption and will lead to hike in the cost of health facilities at AIIMS.

“Nadda is the person who played an important role in removing honest officials from the Health Ministry… If people like Nadda sit in the Health Ministry, then it is obvious that medicines and health facilities will get costlier and there will be an increase in corruption,” charged Sisodia. -PTI